One Small Step For Man
by RaptorFeet21
Summary: As a child, White knew she was destined to be a Pokémon trainer. She waited her whole life until the day she finally received her companion, Oshawott. But before she could leave her mark in Pokémon history a traumatic accident hinders her progress. She finds it hopeless to be the trainer she always dreamed of. But her training days aren't over if her best friend Black has a say.
1. It's Called Handi-Capable

It was a bright and sunny August morning. Birds were chirping, the fresh smell of pine cones filled the room via the open window only vented by the aroma of pancakes coming from downstairs. The air was hot, but in a pleasant way like the feeling of hot chocolate going down your throat only it was touching her skin. Due to her mouth being open while being asleep, she licked her cheeks to prevent them from feeling like a desert. After rubbing her eyes from the extremely pleasant dream she was having, she sat up and gave a big yawn. She stretched her arms out with a big sigh and a small tingle spiked down her spine as both her elbows gave a loud pop. She removed her covers from her feet which were sweaty and smelly. Even a girl like her couldn't prevent stinky feet in the summer weather. The small otter that slept beside her gave a small sigh and blinked its eyes open. It hopped up and gave the girl a nuzzle with its small blue nose.

The girl gave her body a quick glance. Still wearing her ducky pajama pants and a comfy, long sleeve and dark blue shirt, she decided to head downstairs still in a rugged mess. It was only her mom, why would she care?

"Alright, better head down now shouldn't we T.V?" she looked at the otter by her side. It had a mostly white body, dark blue ears, a nose, and flippers. Around its abdomen was a lighter blue tinge of skin with a small shell in the center. T.V. was short for Tidal Wave which is the name he was given by the girl when they first met.

The otter blinked and smiled happily. "Osha! Oshawott! Wott!" he jumped up and down. Even after two years, the Oshawott was as cute as ever.

"White! Come downstairs, breakfast is ready!" a feminine voice called from the bottom of the steps.

White smiled, excited for the home cooked morning meal. At this point she really had to enjoy the little things. She used her hands to scoot her waist to the side. The force made her legs swing over and hang towards the bottom of the bed.

White then grabbed the side of her wheelchair and lifted herself into it.

It was one of her best attempts. She was lucky that this time she didn't tumble to the floor and have to pick herself back up. The worst episode had been when she stumbled onto the ground and slammed the back of her head into the floorboard, giving herself a concussion. Cheren and Black had laughed at the event. She was thankful that Bianca was way more sympathetic than the boys. Although in hindsight giving yourself a concussion by simply falling down is pretty hilarious. She smiled at the memory of her friends visiting her in the hospital afterward and bringing her loads of candy.

Tidal Wave took a small leap off the bed onto White's left shoulder. "O-sha!" he said enthusiastically while pointing towards the stairs.

A chuckle escaped White's lips. "In a minute bud, I do need to clean myself up just a little bit." She wheeled herself to the bathroom and splashed some water in her face. She then put her hair in a ponytail and shoved her signature pink hat onto her messy hair. That was by far her favorite thing about hats; it was the ultimate remedy for a bad hair day.

The small otter hopped on her lap and waved his flipper in front of his nose. "Woooooott" he moaned and pointed at her feet.

"I know I know, I'm getting to it." White grabbed the bottle of air freshener, pulled up her PJ's, and gave a few squirts to her feet. She set the bottle down next to her but kept looking at her legs for some reason. Years and years with the inability to walk on her own legs had given her lower half a beating. Pale, thin, and fit the description perfectly for "weak", anytime she looked at her legs her heart sank for a moment. Even after all this time after the accident, she still could not get over the fact that she couldn't use her feet for anything. For the longest time she considered getting them removed completely. What was the point of having them if she couldn't use them? After a little convincing from her mom that she would be losing a part of herself in the process, White eventually decided to keep her useless legs, despite the fact that every glance made her depression even worse.

Apparently she had been staring at her legs for a while, Tidal Wave patted her face with his flipper. White got out of her trance and looked at him. She shook her head, "Sorry pal, got a little distracted there. You ready to eat?"

"Osha wott wott sha!" T.V grinned and nodded. As if on cue, White's stomach bellowed and vibrated.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry too." White said.

"WHIIIIITE!" her mom called.

"ON MY WAY MOM!"

She wheeled herself over to the top steps and cracked her knuckles. Even if her legs were weak, she was sure she could knock a 7 foot man out with one punch. That is, as long as she could reach him. _The point is,_ she thought, _is that my arms have gotten buff._ She inched forward as she leaned back slightly in her chair making the front wheels lift up. Once the back wheel dropped down to the top step, White gripped her wheels firmly to prevent herself from toppling to the bottom and giving herself another concussion. Tidal Wave gripped the left arm rest to brace himself for the ride. White let herself fall down each step in complete control. After years of practice and months of developing callouses on both of her hands, she had the art of going down stairs in a wheelchair to a science. A twenty set took her only 15 seconds, and White only knew that because she had her mom time her after she had really perfected the skill.

She took the final four steps a bit quicker, letting herself lean forward a bit. After the bumpy ride to the bottom, she let the wheelchair roll on its own. White zoomed past her mom in the kitchen and slammed into the wall, opposite of the stairway up to her room. It would've been painful, but White had done this so many times that her mom had set up padding on that very spot on the wall. It made for an exciting way to start each day. _Hey, that rhymed_ White thought and gave a humorous exhale through her nose.

White turned her chair around, expecting to see her mother with breakfast setup at the table. Although yes, her mom did have her food ready, what she wasn't ready for was Black, Cheren, Bianca, and Professor Juniper standing all around her living room.

"SURPRISE!" they all shouted with glee. White would've stumbled back if she weren't already in her chair. Tidal Wave however had been standing on the arm rest and had fallen off from the shock of all the visitors.

White's mom clapped her hands together excitedly and put her arms out in a "look what I got you" type motion.

White smiled wider than she had in quite some time. "Holy crap! You guys scared the hell out of me!"

"Language." White's mom scolded softly.

"Sorry." But White was too excited to see all her friends to care what came out of her mouth. "What are you all doing here though?"

Black scoffed, "What, you didn't think that we'd miss this special occasion?"

White's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What special occasion?"

Professor Juniper snorted. It was one of the more human qualities about her compared to her usual perfect Pokémon scientist personality. "Why, today marks two years that the four of you received your first Pokémon!" She gestured to the four of them. "Bianca got her Tepig,"

The small orange fire pig peaked out from behind Bianca's legs. "And even after two years of Wilbur knowing you guys, he's still shy around you" Bianca added.

To her left stood wonder-nerd himself. "Cheren got his Snivy"

The future "champion of Unova" tilted his glasses back in place. His recently evolved Snivy into Servine stood as proud as Cheren at his feet. "And we're getting stronger every day!" Cheren boasted.

Professor Juniper eyed White. "Which left Oshawott for you White"

Tidal Wave gasped at the partial insult. White chuckled. "For what it's worth I was going to pick you from the start bud"

"And with no more Unova starters for Black he made the special request to Rowan from Sinnoh. Took weeks for Chimchar to get here" Juniper motioned towards Black.

Jalapeño the Chimchar, or JP for short, sat on top of Black's head, resting his feet on the bill of his trainer's hat. "What can I say," Black said, "the monkey inside me connected"

Cheren gave Black a friendly punch to the shoulder "Yeah, and as the Professor said it took weeks for him to get here. We all had to wait so we could get our first Pokémon together." The group laughed at the memory of two years ago.

White sighed, "Wow, I can't believe it's been two years already"

Black nodded, "We all came to a consensus that we wanted to spend all day together, the four of us, to catch up and relive the old days"

Bianca added, "It was all Cheren's idea too! Who knew he could be such a softy after all"

Cheren shrugged at her teasing. "Hey now, just because becoming stronger is top priority right now doesn't mean I've become a sociopath. You guys are still my friends. Even though I could kick all your butts in a Pokémon battle."

"Wow, so smug" Black said. "Maybe one on one, but in a two on two Gizmo and Mojo would completely own you" Gizmo and Mojo were the nicknames for two of Black's Pokémon that he had caught during his time in the Hoenn region. Since Cheren and Bianca were out discovering Unova, Black decided to start exploring in Hoenn and becoming strong there. He had done a bunch of research on all the regions and Hoenn had two Pokémon he knew he wanted to train from the start.

Gizmo, his Aron was a defensive tank for being so small and was very easy going with a huge love for sleep. Mojo was his troublemaking Abra who had learned a lot of strong attacks in the past year and a half with Black. For a while, Abra made a mess of things; stealing food from vendors, stuffing smaller bugs down unsuspecting pants (Black had bug bites on his legs for weeks), and even making other trainer's Pokéballs come loose. Those poor unfortunate people had heart attacks fearing that they would never see their beloved Pokémon again. After a lot of training, Black was able to teach Mojo some respect and he became one of the most polite Pokémon White had heard of. Still, Mojo pulled the occasional prank, but it was much more just for fun instead of causing mayhem.

Those two Pokémon had become close over the years though and in double battles practically unstoppable. Mojo's attack power was great and could easily take out other trainer's Pokémon, but only a couple hints would hinder him and after four he would be knocked out for the match. Gizmo however, received some special training from Black and despite being a Steel and Rock type, grew into one of the fastest Pokémon. At least, that's what Black had told White over one of their many phone calls while he was away. With Iron Defense, Gizmo could tank any hit aimed at Mojo allowing the psychic type to get free hits on any opponents until they finally won.

Cheren knew about the duo's power and blushed, embarrassed. "Maybe once I'm champion we can battle" he said, avoiding the possibility of getting trampled.

White's mom intervened the nerd out session between them. "Well, how about we continue this conversation over some food. Let's eat!"

* * *

The entire morning was one of the most pleasant moments of White's time being disabled. It was going in the happy memory banks, for sure. That was what White called any memory that she thought about when just the sight of her wheelchair made crumple in sadness. They kept her going: the time her friends visited her in the hospital with her concussion; they had all stopped their adventures just to drop by and make sure she was ok. There was the time that a bunch of wild Rattata's had invaded her house. She and Tidal Wave had battled every single one of them out of her house. It was the one time she felt like a true trainer. And now there would be this morning; pulling her out of her most depressed states. _If only rock bottom was weak against water attacks. That would make things a whole lot easier,_ she would think to herself.

The day was not over though. White's friends released all their Pokémon for them to play together. It was the first time she saw Bianca's Lillipup and Minun along with Cheren's Zorua and Staryu. When White asked how they had gotten Pokémon from outside the Unova region when the two of them had never left, Cheren explained,

"You seriously don't know? For a while now, the scientists from each region, like Professor Juniper and Professor Rowan from Sinnoh, they've been wanting to study Pokémon from outside they're region. So they came together and brought the specimens they were studying and traded with each other. Then they took the new Pokémon to their respective regions and released them into the wild to see how they would react to the new environment. The first time was such a success that they did it every year for an entire decade. Now there's no such thing as region specific Pokémon. Now really it's just that the Pokémon that are native to the region are more common than foreign Pokémon"

White could've done without the sass, but it was great news to hear for the world of Pokémon trainers. It made her desire to be one herself grow even more. Since they were all 5 they all made plans to become trainers and adventure the world together. Now eleven years later, going their separate ways and White being stuck at home doing nothing was not how she had pictured it as a kid.

In the afternoon the Pokémon battles went underway. Bianca was excited to show off how strong her Minun was; Cheeks was its nickname. The electric rat was in fact very strong, taking out Cheren's Staryu with one Spark attack. But Servine was able to take out both Cheeks and Shortstuff the Lillipup easily. Then the double battle that Black had talked about finally happened. Mojo sat on Gizmo's back playfully, but ready for a fight. Cheren's Servine, Jack, stood by his side ready for another fight. The Servine's name was Jack as Cheren explained how his grass Pokémon was a jack-of-all-trades type Pokémon; not overly powerful at one aspect of battling but not weak in anything, The confusing part was when he sent out Cosmo, his Staryu, out again.

"Woah, wait, isn't he tired from our fight?" Bianca had argued. However, there the water Pokémon stood without a single sign of fatigue.

White stood by Black trying to figure out the strategy grinding around in the brain gears of her friend's head. "You _do_ know Gizmo shouldn't tank any water attacks from the Staryu, right?" she offered her advice. Staying inside most of the day gave her plenty of free time to study weaknesses, strengths, moves, and even the use of special items on Pokémon.

Black acknowledged the comment, "Yup, I'm aware, I know exactly what I'm going to do"

Professor Juniper, who had agreed to be the referee for the battles, commenced the fight and Cheren wasted no time with his first order of attack. "Jack, Razor Leaf! Sh-err-Cosmo, follow behind with Tackle. Both of you go for Abra!"

In response, the Servine turned and spewed sharpened foliage like a machine gun towards Mojo followed by Staryu charging forward. As the usual strategy went for Black, Gizmo lunged to the side and took the blow of the Razor Leaf attack. Staryu kept barreling forward when Cheren ordered again, "Cosmo, jump over Aron and continue your attack"

That command stunned Black and Gizmo as the Staryu leapt over the Steel/Rock Pokémon and barreled forward like a steamroller. Black remained speechless for only second though as he responded. "Mojo, Hidden Power, and then Teleport!"

"Bruha" Mojo squealed as he focused on a small ball of light forming in between his hands and then forcing it forward. The Staryu was unable to dodge the attack, however he continued his assault towards Mojo unfazed. Just as he was about to reach the Abra with its Tackle attack, Mojo teleported to Gizmo's side.

Black stared at the Staryu, who although he could tell it took damage, seemed relatively still strong. "I knew it" he muttered under his breath. White, with all her studying, even she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Gizmo, use Iron Claw on the Staryu! Mojo, use Shadow Ball on Servine!" Black yelled to his Pokémon.

White tugged on Black's light blue jacket. "Dude, Steel moves aren't very effective on water type-"

"Just give them a second" Black assured her. The Aron who was very light on his feet rushed at the Staryu and swiped with his claws. Cosmo tumbled to the side from the powerful hit and slammed against the wall of White's house. Completely knocked out, the Staryu started to shimmer and revealed that it was in fact Shadow, Cheren's Zorua. White admitted to herself that even she was fooled by the dark type's ability to look like another Pokémon.

Mojo on the other hand, formed a ball of darkness in between his hands and lobbed the shadow bomb at Servine, who easily rolled forward to dodge. Jack proceeded to unfold from his somersault and whipped his tail around, knocking Mojo to the ground. The Abra wasn't out, but everyone could tell a large amount of damage was sustained by the small psychic type. Black shouted again, "Gizmo, use Dig!"

"Ron A! A! Aron!" the Pokémon shrieked in agreement as he used his claws to dig into the ground.

"Follow him Mojo!" Black said and White immediately knew what he was doing. It was the strategy he used in every double battle once there was only one Pokémon on the other side. According to him it was guaranteed to win him the match and so far he was undefeated in double battles.

The Abra began to crawl his way into the hole his teammate had made. Cheren stood confident still.

"Stay on guard Jack. Be ready to dodge it" he said. Servine lowered himself and made aware of his surroundings.

Eventually the gravel under the Servine's feet began to shake. "NOW!" Cheren said and his grass Pokémon leapt backwards.

"Mojo, teleport!" Black said. Gizmo popped out of the ground where the earth had been slightly displaced, but his teammate did not appear behind him. When the Servine landed after leaping backwards, it was only until he noticed the Abra behind him when Cheren realized he was defeated. "Mojo, Shadow Ball!"

The Abra once more, put his hands together, producing a compact blob of darkness, and shoved the attack into the back of Cheren's Servine. Jack flew forward and tumbled to the ground defeated.

Professor Juniper lifted her arm. "Cheren's Pokémon are no longer able to battle. Black wins!"

Mojo got on top of Gizmo's back and the two began running around again playfully in a victory lap. JP the Chimchar jumped off of Black's head when the two came close and tackled his fellow Pokémon to the ground in a heap of joyous laughter. Black was the last one to slide to the ground next to them and play along.

In the most gentlemen voice he could muster, Black congratulated his Pokémon, "A fine battle if I do say so. Please, gentle Pokémon take bows. All around" Black lowered his head in respect followed by his Chimchar and Abra putting their hands together and doing the same. Aron bent his front knees and lowered his head too. After a couple of seconds they kept on laughing. White could tell that the bond between Black and his Pokémon was incredibly strong. Any Pokémon would be lucky to have him as a trainer.

Cheren walked over to him. "Wow, you weren't wrong. Gizmo, Mojo, you two worked well together"

Black turned to his companions, "What do we say to compliments?"

Aron smiled, "Aron!"

Abra followed suit, "Bra, Abra!"

Black turned back to Cheren, "They say thank you"

 _Very lucky indeed_ , White thought.

* * *

The night ended peacefully. Cheren and Bianca stayed in their families homes neighboring White's house in Nuvema Town. Black was allowed to stay the night and the following day before his ship departed back to Hoenn. He stayed with White on the balcony outside her room. The two had been chatting for hours as the sun went down. He was easily White's best friend out of their group. He was the easiest to talk to and the most supportive. While he, Bianca, and Cheren were out on their adventures he was the only one to call regularly. White couldn't blame Cheren and Bianca for their lack of communication. They were busy doing Pokémon contests and training their partners to become stronger. Yet Black had always made sure he had time to call White to see how she was doing and to make sure she knew she was remembered while they were away. They talked about everything, from the Pokémon Black had discovered to the silly comments White's mom made about her daily soap operas and everything in between. That's how White had known all about Mojo and Gizmo and how Jalapeño had learned Thunder Punch to take care of his weakness to water and eventually when he evolved into a fighting type, the weakness to flying.

And if White was completely honest with herself, today was the first time she had ever seen or even heard of Cheeks, Shortstuff, Shadow, and Cosmo.

The two remained on the balcony. Black was on top of the wooden ledge leaning against the wall. White sat a couple feet away from him, admiring the beautiful orange and purple sunset they were viewing.

Today, something seemed off about Black though. White couldn't put her finger on it, but her best friend instincts could tell there was something on his mind.

"Alright, spill it" she finally said.

"Huh?" Black stifled up.

"You heard me. Spill what's on your mind"

"What? Your crazy, nothing's on my mind"

"I know, usually it's a blank canvas, but I can tell when something's wrong. Remember when you broke your mom's only hair brush when we were 10? No one thought anything of it, but it tore you to pieces and I was the only one who could tell. Now do I have to come up there and knock you in the head or are you going to spill it" White searched his eyes to try and figure out what was bugging him. Were his Pokémon okay? Was one of them sick? Was his mom keeping in contact with him? Arceus knows how much he worried about his mom while she was out searching for Pokémon fossils. What if Black had found a girl in Hoenn and things were wrong with them? It wasn't until she noticed him giving a quick glance to White's wheelchair that she knew what the problem was.

"Black, it's been two years. How many times do I have to say it; the accident was not your fault!"

"I know, you keep telling me that but I still feel guilty. I can't stop thinking about what happened, how you couldn't go out in the world and be the Pokémon trainer you always wanted. It's so hard to live with myself that it was my responsibility to take care of you. I should've noticed it, I should've seen it-"

"Hey hey hey" White gently put a hand on his arm. "I should've seen it too. And sure it eats me every day not being out there catching Pokémon with Tidal Wave and Jalapeño and you. But I've managed. T.V takes care of me and I find my own entertainment. Who knows, maybe I can study Pokémon from a comfortable lab like Juniper" White could hear the cheers of her Oshawott with Black's Chimchar, Abra, and Aron playing in the yard below them. She took comfort knowing that just like she would always have Black, Tidal Wave could have his own Pokémon friends. White turned back to Black.

"You need to promise me that you will keep having adventures. Become one of the strongest trainers in the world; I know you can, and I can tell your Pokémon believe you can too. You can't be hindered by me"

Black nodded slightly, "Yeah, sure, okay" he said. But White could see in his eyes this wouldn't be off his mind anytime soon. _How ironic,_ she thought, _that the disabled one is comforting her friend about the inability to do what he loves._ White decided to change the subject.

"Okay, so how did you know Cheren's Staryu was actually his Zorua" she asked.

Black chuckled, "Well, I didn't at first, only a little suspicious. So I took a risk putting Gizmo in front of it. But when Mojo used Hidden Power on it, well his Hidden Power is a grass type move-"

"So when you saw that a super effective move didn't do as much damage as it should've you knew that it wasn't a water type, that it was the Zorua!" White finished the thought, finally knowing what had happened.

"Wow, lady knows her Pokémon" Black commented.

"Hey I have a lot of time on my hands. Also whenever Professor Juniper is in town I help her out and she's taught me a lot" White explained. She was happy to have gotten the subject out of Black's mind.

Or so she thought.

"Hey, I need to tell you something" Black said after they had sat for about an hour in silence. It was another perk of their friendship. Even sitting in silence wasn't uncomfortable. White knew he had something serious to say, but she couldn't resist a joke.

"Oh my god, I knew it, you're gay. I so called it. MOM! BLACK IS GAY!" White teased.

Black gave her a shove, "No you dope, I'm not gay"

"Aww too bad, I know some cute guys who I told you were dying to meet them"

"Damn woman, what makes you think I'm gay?!"

"Maybe it's the the way you walk, the way you talk, you know you move your hips when you talk"

"I do not move my hips when I talk! I'm as straight as an Onix"

"You know Onix are a lot rounder when you take a closer look"

"Oh shut up" Black ended the teasing and laughed at White's joke. After a second to let White settle down he picked up his backpack. After rummaging a bit, he pulled out a Pokéball. "First let me introduce you to someone." He pressed the button in the center and the capsule opened. A tiny stream of energy burst from the ball and compressed into a wing shaped creature on the arm rest of White's chair. After a couple seconds, it was revealed to be a Zubat. The tiny blue bat shrieked in greeting at White.

"Meet Blue. She's a very caring Pokémon and any one that has threatened Mojo or Gizmo or Jalapeño or even me she gets really angry at and uses Supersonic to make them rethink their actions. I'm still trying to train her to focus that attack on one opponent because it's still pretty disruptive to anyone on within range of it" Black said while rubbing his ears for emphasis.

White scratched the top of Blue the Zubat's head who graciously accepted the friendly petting. "This is really cool, I'm sure the others are glad to have her on the team"

"Oh yeah, they absolutely love her. Scratch behind her ear, that's where she really loves it" Black said. White moved her hand accordingly and Blue swooned as she curled into a ball on White's lap comfortably.

"So what cave did you find her in? I don't remember you telling me anything about finding her" White asked.

"Umm, well, I found her in the Rocky Tunnel, near Cerulean City" Black said. A small switch went off in White's head like a little red flag.

"Black, Rocky Tunnel and Cerulean City are not in Hoenn. What were you possibly doing in Kanto?" White confronted.

"Well, I was in Lavaridge town and the gym leader there, Flannery, she told me about another fire gym leader, Blain, who is on Cinnabar Island. It was also the same place that they restore old fossil Pokémon like Aerodactyl and Kabuto. I had this crazy idea but I had to make sure before I got my hopes up. So I took a ferry to the Kanto Region and went straight to the lab there. I talked to a couple of scientists about the process of restoring old bones and fossils and it sounded not as complicated as I thought it would be. So eventually I asked them if they could also restore human bones as well and you know what they said?"

"Black, where are you going with this?"

"They said yes. They do it all the time! If someone's bones become weak just a simple surgery can restore them to better than new! White, they could get you walking again."

White didn't know what to think. Could this actually happen? The concept of walking again, she had practically forgotten what it felt like to stand on her own two feet. There was no way it could be that simple though, could it? That thought she couldn't keep to herself.

"It can't be that simple, can it?" White asked.

Black smiled even wider as he spoke. White couldn't remember a time Black was so excited about an idea he had. "There were two complications, really. One was convincing your mom about it, but she was amazingly all for it. She couldn't have asked for something better for you."

"And the other?"

"The other is less easy. The price of that kind of surgery is crazy expensive. Over 1,000,000 Pokédollars"

"Holy shit" White muttered.

"I know, as I said, crazy expensive. But Blaine, the gym leader there, he noticed me talking to the scientists while he was taking his daily walk around the lab. You know, since he owns the place. And he looked at me and he said 'Son, if this friend of yours can beat me in a gym battle I will pay for the entire surgery myself'."

White stopped scratching Blue. "Black, what did my mom agree to?"

Black at this point was shaking, about to burst with the incredible news. "White, I'm about to make your dream come true" He shuffled through his bag again and pulled out two slips of paper he handed one of them to White.

She read the slip of paper…

 **Boarding Pass**

 **Departure: Castelia City 8:00am August 7**

 **Arrival: Vermillion City 12:00pm August 7**

White started shaking too. Her thoughts were racing fast as if tiny consciousness humans were Olympic athletes in a 100meter dash in her head. She looked at Black with amazement in her eyes.

"White," he said, "Would you like to have a Pokémon adventure with me through the Kanto Region?"


	2. It's Not Pink, It's a Lightish Red

The room was dark. Water condensation drenched the roof so heavily that tiny droplets of moisture tapped the floor in a constant rhythm. _One, two, three, three, three…the magic number is three,_ a grunt thought. His back was against the wall of the large warehouse. Barely enough light from the moon allowed the grunt to see around the building. Crates upon crates stacked on each other. On the right he could hear the small chirps and wails of Pokémon. On his left were building supplies. Drills, stone blocks, electric tape, extension cords, and blueprints were few of the many things cluttering masses of tables.

His left ear twitched. There was a Pokémon call that he could not stop hearing despite the echoes at a low decibel. "Ted teddy, ursa ursa Teddiursa" a small voice moaned. The grunt pushed himself away from the wall. His feet scuffled almost without a second thought. The voice seemed enticing, like the Pokémon was offering a chocolate cake he couldn't refuse.

The grunt that was standing next to him grabbed his shoulder. "Rej, what are you doing?" she said.

Reggie shrugged. "I dunno, I just wanna see the Teddiursa. You do know how cute they are, right Jess?"

"I don't give a crap how cute they are! You know the boss needs these for shipment. He gave direct orders not to mess with any of the Pokémon" Jessica barked.

"Ah don't get your ruffles in a bunch. It'll just be a second"

Jess blinked. "What, I- the hell does that mean?"

"Just stand guard. I want to pet it. I think it's calling for me" Reggie smiled.

While he was walking to the cages, Jess called after him. "Fine, WHATEVER. It's your ass that'll be fired" Once out of sight, under her breath she added, "Or worse".

The rows full of Pokémon were quite depressing for young Reggie. Some were lying down with their eyes closed. Of those, a few seemed to not be breathing. Dead maybe? Reggie felt worried about them. It reminded him of the time his Pokémon and best friend Dratini got deathly sick. Nicknamed Gregory, Greg for short, the Dratini had some sort of stomach infection and flu at the same time. For weeks Greg didn't get any better, just constantly in a sweat but shivering profusely at the same time. Nothing the Dratini ate stayed in its digestive system for over an hour. It wasn't until a Pokémon doctor was able to visit his little town that Greg got the right medicine, and even then it took a few more days to get him to a normal condition. Reggie was so sure at certain points the flu was going to take his poor Dratini away. He remembered he was only seven when it happened. And now ten years later and one evolution to the powerful Dragonair Reggie was glad he was safe with his mom while he worked.

Reggie looked up a few rows and spotted a glass aquarium with a single fish Pokémon swimming in shortened circles. It had a brown body with darker brown spots, blue fins, and wide attentive eyes. He couldn't quite put a finger on the name, but it did ring a small bell and he knew that it was a rare water Pokémon from the Hoenn region. In a cage directly below that one stood a Poochyena: also Hoenn. The dark hound darted out its nose in a proud stance, yet one look in its eyes and Reggie could only see complete desperation. There was no escaping the cage for that Pokémon.

For a while it seemed like the rows went on forever. Stacked at least 30 cages high there was no way Reggie could see the rest of the warehouse. He knew it was big, he watched over it every day, but this seem excessive. The farther down the small corridor filled with Pokémon Reggie went the louder the moans and cries of the imprisoned creatures surrounded him.

Finally, the Teddiursa that was calling for him came into view. Weakly the bear Pokémon gave a small sigh "Ursaaaaa". Its tiny paws clung to the steel bars of its cage and had its head resting on the bars. Reggie bent down on one knee. He lowered his head in his best effort to be eye level with the Teddiursa.

"Man, I hope none of you guys are claustrophobic" he joked slightly. None of the Pokémon laughed, and he assumed a human wouldn't have either if one was around. Reggie smiled regardless at his clever quip. The Teddiursa glanced up slightly. It eyed the big red "G" on Reggie's gray blazer. All the grunts got them when they were assigned their first jobs. It fit Reggie quite comfortably even. But at the small glance from the bear Pokémon, nothing but fear filled its eyes.

In one second, the Teddiursa leaped backwards only two feet to be confined by the cage. Its breathing got heavy. Reggie couldn't explain the sudden discomfort the bear displayed to him. Normally he had great chemistry with Pokémon. He glanced at his blazer.

Reggie raised up his hands "Woah woah, hey there. I'm not gonna hurt you. Here," he took off the blazer and laid it on the ground, "is that better?"

The breathing seemed to slow down. Still, the Teddiursa was sure to make no sudden movements.

Then Reggie remembered he had Poketreats in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out the plastic bag full of delicious snacks. He unzipped the bag and grabbed a single treat. In an open palm he put it closer to the cage. Teddiursa remained motionless. "Don't worry, it's safe. Only thing in here is stuff that'll make your tummy happy." The Teddiursa inched forward very carefully. Once it was in range, the small bear gave a quick sniff to the treat. Although still weary, Reggie could tell the smell was pleasant to the Pokémon.

"Here, take it out of my hands. I won't move a muscle if it makes you feel better" Reggie reassured. The Teddiursa eyed this strange human. Could he trust the grunt? Even if he couldn't the bear couldn't resist the treat for the life of him. In one motion he snatched the treat and gnawed at it. Crumbs started spilling on the Teddiursa's feet. After a few bites Reggie could faintly make out a smile on the Pokémon's mouth as he munched away.

A loud CLICK made the bear jump back again. Then an eerie CREEEEEEE as the door to his cage opened. With the treat still in his hand, Teddiursa looked at Reggie. "You know; I can't imagine that cage is too comfortable. Come on, get out here and stretch a bit. It'll limber you up for, I dunno, whatever project these guys are working on" he said referring to his bosses and employers. At the words "these guys" Teddiursa flinched, but he seemed to start trusting Reggie. He inched forward until his front feet fell from the cage onto the cold tile floor. His half-eaten crispy treat was clasped to his chest with his tiny paws. Teddiursa looked up at the light and blinked immensely, adjusting to the brightness.

"I know it's not much of a view but it's something" Reggie reassured. Teddiursa looked down the large alley of cages. It heard the cries of its fellow Pokémon and a frown creased on its face. Reggie could see the distress in his new buddy's eyes. "I wish I could get all of the Pokémon out of their cages for a bit, but I don't want to get in trouble."

"Oh but you already are"

Reggie lurched backwards. The Teddiursa leapt back into its cage and slammed the door shut. Standing in front of the grunt was Malachi, Reggie's boss. He had a pink bow tie over and dark green button up. A pink jacket covered his torso with one button in the middle. Bleak brown pants went from his waist to his gray dress shoes. It was almost cartoony if it weren't for the most menacing face Reggie had ever seen. A sharp nose that looked like it could cut through steel exhaled heavily and angrily. His left eyebrow rose mysteriously leaving Reggie's stomach doing a triathlon. A bald head was hidden by a black fedora and a skull earring pierced a single nub of cartilage on Malachi's right. A thin wooden cane tapped the floor with the same rhythm as the water droplets Reggie had been counting earlier.

After a few uneasy seconds, Reggie was finally able to stutter. "B-boss, I uh, I decided to take my lunch break with the Pokémon" he lied. He could tell Malachi was sniffing his fear like a blood hound.

"Don't play games with me boy. I hate games" Malachi uttered in voice so deep it could rival the bellow of an angry Aggron.

"Sorry sir, boss, Mr. I mean…it won't happen again" Reggie apologized.

Malachi snapped forward and held his cane up to Reggie's throat, in a motion as quick as the strike of a cobra. "Listen to me foolish boy. You do not toy with the Pokémon as if they are your friends. They are merely tools. Tools to help fulfill my vision, nothing more. Understood?"

Reggie nodded furiously, making future plans to always listen to Jessica.

"Good" Malachi inched backwards, giving enough space for Reggie to pick up his blazer. After a few seconds the boss turned back to his grunt. "However, you are right about one thing"

Reggie gulped. "And what would that be sir?"

Malachi pushed back his coat and pulled out a single Pokéball. He pushed the button and pure energy released from the container. Hunched forward was a Houndoom. It growled menacingly while exhaling smoke from its nostrils.

"It won't happen again" Malachi snapped his fingers and the Houndoom attacked.

* * *

After a couple hours the ferry arrived in Kanto from the Unova region. Black, White, and their Pokémon escorted them off the boat into Vermillion City. Black wanted all his pals and Oshawott to be out of their Pokéballs to enjoy the trip. He also was impressed how skilled White had become accustomed, and even excelled in being in a wheelchair. She enjoyed typical cruise luxuries including shuffleboard, the pool (how she swam without using her legs was awesome), and even a new obstacle course that went throughout the ship. No set of stairs could stop her tenacity.

The docking went smoothly. Backpacks filled with extra clothes, food, water, and sleeping bags, and White was shaking uncontrollably. _I'm finally going on the adventure I always wanted. Sure it's four years late, but better late than never I guess!_

They stopped by the Pokémon Center to rest up and make a game plan. Black and White chowed down on rolls and rice pudding as Black pulled out the map he had used on his first visit to Kanto. Tidal Wave, Jalapeño, Gizmo, Mojo, and Blue were all collapsed on the floor completely exhausted from the trip.

"So," Black explained through a mouthful of pudding, "Vermillion City's Gym Leader is Lieutenant Surge, an Electric type user. I would recommend we start heading for Pewter City for the Rock type Gym, or we start looking for some Pokémon better suited for fighting Electric types. No offense to Oshawott, but water types do not like electric moves."

"I know type effectiveness and weaknesses. Come on I've spent years in my room. You think I did nothing that entire time?" White argued.

Black shrugged. "Ok, my bad, just making a game plan. Where do you want to start?"

"Well in any case, I don't care what gym we start at. But I want to catch at least two more Pokémon before I try any battles. So I say we start heading out to the wild, or hit up a cave and see what we find"

"Sounds like a plan. This is your adventure. Lead the way!"

Just as the two were about to exit the center, a faint EEEEEEEEEE started sounding outside. With each passing second, the alarm got louder and louder. They ran outside.

Within seconds, Vermillion City was in a total panic. The alarm that was blaring was a firetruck drifting to the side as it zoomed around the corner. In the direction of the truck was a loud plume of smoke that was as thick as tar. Water Pokémon were dashing in the direction of the chaos and people were evacuating the area in the opposite direction.

"This does not look good" Black thought out loud.

White starting rolling towards the fire. "Quit with your understatements and let's go. People need our help!"

"White are you crazy? How can we help?" Black grabbed the handles of her wheelchair and stopped her in her tracks.

"Black, what are fire types weak against?" White smugged. Black was clueless per the usual.

"What are you talking-"

"What. Are. They. Weak. Against?"

Black sighed. He pulled out a Pokéball and released Aron. "Rock," he motioned towards Oshawott, "and water"

"Glad you're not a complete idiot" White said. She then smacked the remaining hand that was holding on to her chair and continued forward.

Black followed in a quick jog. _Hasn't even started and she's already gonna get us killed._

* * *

Reggie dove to the side. Where he once stood was a patch of ash and soot. Heat washed over him as he began to sweat. He could only run from a death bent Houndoom for so long. All because he liked Pokémon. _Maybe this isn't the right job for me_ , he thought.

All the Pokémon climbed as far back into their cages as they could, eyes widened with terror on each and every one of them. He started hoping that one of them would burst out of their cage and help him, but the fear he felt was clearly shared by the creatures and no saving would come anytime soon.

"Is killing me really necessary?!" Reggie called out, still running from the fire hound.

Even with the explosions Reggie could hear his boss clicking his tongue. "Tsk tsk, you see insubordination is highly frowned upon and we can't have that. So why teach a lesson when you can just stop dealing with it? It's a real problem solver if you ask me"

Reggie backed into a wall. The Houndoom raced forward, fireball already forming in its maw. Suddenly a snap from Malachi's fingers and the Houndoom froze, still eyeing Reggie with a glare that was only matched by his mother when he didn't take the trash out. The grunt's breathing got heavier, but otherwise he did not move in fear of ticking off the mutt.

"Houndoom, Fire Blast" Malachi ordered. Reggie gulped.

The fire mutt opened its maw with heat building quickly in its throat. Reggie felt his impending doom create a lump in his throat. "This is not what I pictured when I thought I was gonna get fired."

Just as Houndoom was about to release its Fire Blast it tumbled to the side. The projectile fired, hitting the wall inches from Reggie, singeing his side with heat. The blast created a hole in the wall leading to another connecting warehouse filled with just as many Pokémon. Standing where Houndoom was about to kill him was Teddiursa standing proud. Reggie was surprised such a small Pokémon could deliver such a powerful headbutt attack.

"URSA!" the bear growled menacingly.

Malachi grimaced. "Clearly defective. We will dispose of this worthless Pokemon once we're finished with you." Teddiursa looked at Malachi and stood in front of Reggie in a stance of protectiveness. Malachi laughed "Oh my. It would seem you've gained this one's trust. That's just too bad. Houndoom, Crunch"

Houndoom regained its composure and glared at the Teddiursa. It charged forward with its mouth opened. The small bear's courage evaporated as it squealed in fear. Suddenly its tiny paw was grabbed by Reggie and lurched backward into the hole in the wall.

"Let's get out of here!" Reggie said as he put Teddiursa on his shoulder. "Hang on buddy!"

The two zoomed through the rows of Pokémon. Reggie thought in his head that he would have to come back and save all these Pokémon. Clearly this organization was evil and Reggie would have none of it. If something like this happened to Gregory he would be destroyed. Reggie glanced at all the Pokémon trying to assure them he would be back with help. For now though he had to get out and make sure he stayed alive. However Reggie laid his eyes on a certain blue snake like Pokémon with wings on its head and a gem on its chest. The dragon was unmistakable to Reggie.

He skidded to a halt. "Gregory?" The Dragonair lifted its head and saw Reggie from inside its cage.

"Squeee!" it said happily.

"Greg I'm coming!" Reggie said instantly and started climbing. Teddiursa clung to his jacket collar. He reached his blue friends cage and opened it. "We're getting out of here!" Reggie stammered. The Dragonair leapt out of the cage and landed on the cold floor.

Other grunts that were on guard had noticed the commotion and had surrounded Reggie and his Pokemon, including Jessica. She mouthed, "I'm sorry". The grunts released their Pokemon. Reggie eyed the frightening creatures, including Bagon, Cloyster, Zweilous, Tortuga, and Magneton.

Malachi approached with his Houndoom by his side. "You cannot win boy. But there is no point in surrendering. Your life was on a timer the moment you disobeyed orders. Pokemon, attack!"

The surrounding Pokemon fired their attacks. Flamethrower, Icicle Spears, Dragon Pulse, Rock Blast, and Thunderbolt attacks raced towards Reggie as if they were competing to see which one would kill him first.

"I don't think so" Reggie said. "Greg, DIG!"

Dragonair jumped with his tail pointing towards the ground and started to spin. When he hit the ground his tail drilled straight through, tunneling under the warehouse. Reggie and Teddiursa went in seconds before the attacks blasted together creating an explosion like an earthquake.

Malachi smirked. "Escape if he might. As I said, on a timer. Find him! Bring me his body, alive preferably but if he is dead I will not be upset". The grunts nodded and jumped down the hole.

* * *

The fire was coming from the town bike shop. Luckily it was next to a cliff so Gizmo was using Rock Slide effortlessly. Oshawott fired Water Gun at the flames attempting to extinguish it. The fire wall went down a bit, but not enough for the shop owner to get out. The shop owner was crying for help from the window.

"THE FIRES ARE TOO BIG! I CAN'T GET OUT!" he shouted.

Firetrucks were using their hoses to blast water at the fire. However the bike shop was engulfed to the brim as if the fire were merely getting tickled by the water.

Black and White were sweating as they assisted town members who managed to escape. A small girl was coughing up smoke as White carried her to a nearby ambulance. "Did you get my daddy out?" she gasped.

"He'll be out soon I promise" White reassured as she laid her in a stretcher.

White went back to Black who was ordering Gizmo different rock type attacks at the house. "This isn't the same as a Pokemon White. Super effective attacks aren't doing anything!"

"Well we have to do something!" White yelled.

At that moment, a blue streak exploded from the ground followed by a strange kid in a jacket with a Teddiursa on his shoulder. He was exhaling heavily as if he had been running for miles. "What's going on?" he spoke once he noticed the fire.

"There's still a guy in the bike shop and the fire is too big to be taken out" White explained quickly.

"Ah geez, okay one sec" he heaved. "Greg, use Whirlwind"

The blue streak stopped spinning revealing the most elegant Dragonair White had ever seen despite the dirt caked all over its body. The Dragonair called Gregory filled with energy and then released it towards the house. Within seconds the fire was gone and the shop owner had escaped.

There was applause. This mystery guy had appeared out of nowhere and just as suddenly extinguished the flames. White had never seen a Whirlwind attack so ferocious and powerful. He looked to the guy for questioning but he was walking away, attempting to flee unnoticed.

"Hey hold on! That was amazing. You just saved that guys life! Who are you" White wheeled as fast as she could towards him. Black followed grudgingly.

"No time to talk. I have places to be" the guy said.

"Woah there hold on, you have one thick head if you think you're getting away without showing me how you got your Dragonair to be so powerful!"

"You might as well answer so she'll leave you alone!" Black told the man.

"Look, you wouldn't like me if you knew where I came from so you better get away from me" the man muttered.

"Dear lord you are weird" White grumbled. She scooted ahead of him and stopped him in his tracks. "I'm White, what's your name".

The guy sighed and smiled. "I'm Reggie. Now I don't know how you caught up to me that quickly-"

"I've had practice" White interrupted while patting her wheelchair.

"Clearly. If you think you can keep up, I'll explain as soon as we get away from Vermillion City. We're heading into the forest. Have any Pokemon?"

Oshawott hopped onto White's lap after it caught up. "Just the one but the forest is perfect" she said showing him her empty Pokeballs.

"Well alright then, lets get going" Reggie spoke.

The two went away into the forest with Black behind them. _She wanted an adventure_ Black thought to himself.


End file.
